Sailors Broccoli and Stilton Soup with Honeyed Carrot Chips

If you've been following me on the gram, you'll know that I've just been working back home in the beautiful UK, one of my favourite places in the world. I was doing in-stores over at Planet Organic and sampling the Love Your Gut powder and Golden Gut Blend.

Whilst I was home, I also managed to squeeze in a short sailing trip to The Isle of Wight, which is a quaint island off the coast of England and home to wonderful wildlife, natural beauty, absolutely delicious food (I had one of the best soups of my life- the one I'm sharing today) and little nooks and crannies to explore.

This cute island is situated just off England’s South coast and is only a few hours away from London. Most people travel to it by ferry, or if you're like me and enjoy sailing and get the chance, you can sail over there too.  

The best part is that it's an island that's protected from the busy mainland, offering more of a calm and peaceful environment.  In true English fashion, the Isle of Wight was home to many famous poets and Queen Victoria (who knew?). She built her summer residence and final home there - and we all know I’m a sucker for a good Royals story!

Not only is the Isle of Wight home to the Queen, it's also home to the most
beautiful, fresh and absolutely delicious produce you can find. Many restaurants and pubs offer delicious menus based on locally grown produce.

If you talk to anyone in town and even mention the g-word (garlic), you won’t hear the end of it! Garlic is practically the national treasure of the Isle of Wight. It’s been successfully grown there for many years and is even exported to France – so be sure to send them a 'thank you' postcard next time you go to France and enjoy a croissant with garlic butter…

The Isle of Wight has an amazing garlic farm and an annual Garlic Festival which is one of the largest events of the local calendar! That’s an event I never want to miss out on again.

Coming back home has made me super excited to get right into growing even more of my own produce. I'm moving into a new house and office soon with a kitchen garden area so am excited to raise my own garden beds and add a greenhouse because I totally fell head over heels for my auntie's green house and veggie garden! Seriously, look how beautiful it is:

Speaking of food (but let's be real, when am I not ever?), I want to share with you my latest soup creation - Broccoli and Stilton Soup. This soup right here is officially inspired by my sailing trip to the Isle of Wight. While I was there, I was blown away by this soup with the best part – honeyed carrot chips, and I couldn’t wait to get home and recreate the recipe for all of you because well let's be honest, I’m nice like that:).

This sailing soup is simple, smooth and totally satisfying. It’s filled with delicious ingredients that make for the perfect dinner party starter or meal for a cheeky and lazy weeknight in.

Whether your love affair with cheese is real or you have more of a hate-hate relationship with the stuff, I’ve added some coconut milk to the soup to balance out the flavour and give it more of a neutral taste so the cheese doesn’t overpower. So, even if you think you don’t like blue cheese, this classically creamy soup will prove you wrong! You could also try stirring in some goat's cheese at the end if you prefer. 

I’ve included the carrot chips to this soup because let’s face it, sweet potato chips are so 2016. If you’ve never tried honeyed carrot chips, your world is about to change! They’re seriously knock-your-socks off delicious. These carrot chips are crispy, sweet and salty, filling all requirements for the perfect chip.

So here you have it, the classic Broccoli and Stilton Soup with my carroty twist! Let me know if you love it as much as I  do in the comments section below.

Sailors Broccoli and Stilton soup with Honeyed Carrot Chips 

Serves 2 

• One tbs olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced 
• 1 celery stick, sliced fine 
• One leek (white part) sliced fine 
• One small knob ginger, chopped 
• 1 large head broccoli, roughly chopped 
• Six cups chicken or vegetable stock 
• Squeeze of lemon 
• 1 cup coconut milk 
• 1 cup stilton cheese crumbled 

Method:

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat add garlic, celery, leek and ginger and cook until softened down.

Add broccoli and cook for 5 mins stirring then pour in the stock and lemon juice and simmer for 5- 10 mins until cooked through. Stir through coconut milk and simmer until warmed and correct flavours.

Carefully transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. 

Stir in stilton gently leaving a few crumbly pieces on top.

Season to taste.

Honeyed Carrot chips 

• 3 large carrots peeled and sliced fine into batons 
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbs raw honey
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. 

Place carrot chips evenly onto a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and honey, then sprinkle with sea salt, and cinnamon and toss to coat.

Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes turning once; you’ll notice they will start to brown on the edges and become crispy.

Remove from the oven and place on top of soup.